Contributors

Friday, February 10, 2012

We had a lively meeting on Wednesday with lots of input from everyone on the topic of Artemisia. Here are my notes from the program...

Artemisia
is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 to 400 species
belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae.

It
comprises hardy herbs and shrubs known for their volatile oils. They
grow in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern
Hemisphere, usually in dry or semi-dry habitats. The fern-like leaves
of many species are covered with white hairs.

Common
names used for several species include mugwort, sagebrush, sagewort,
and wormwood, while a few species have unique names, notably Tarragon
(A. dracunculus) and Southernwood (A. abrotanum).

Occasionally
some of the species are called sages, causing confusion with the
Salvia sages in the family Lamiaceae.

Most
species have strong aromas and bitter tastes from terpenoids and
sesquiterpene lactones, which exists as an adaptation to discourage
herbivory. The small flowers are wind-pollinated.

The
aromatic leaves of many species of Artemisia are medicinal,
and some are used for flavouring. Most species have an extremely
bitter taste.

Wormwood has been used medicinally as a tonic, stomachic,
febrifuge and anthelmintic- to destroy parasitic worms.

Artemisia vulgaris
(mugwort or common wormwood)

is
one of several species in the genus Artemisia which have common names
that include the word mugwort. This species is also occasionally
known as Felon Herb, Chrysanthemum Weed, Wild Wormwood, Old uncle
Henry, Sailor's Tobacco, Naughty Man, Old Man or St. John's Plant
(not to be confused with St John's wort).

It
is native to temperate Europe, Asia, northern Africa and Alaska and
is naturalized in North America, where some consider it an invasive
weed. It is a very common plant growing on nitrogenous soils, like
weedy and uncultivated areas, such as waste places and roadsides.

It
is a tall herbaceous perennial plant growing 1–2 m (rarely 2.5 m)
tall, with a woody root. The leaves are dark green, pinnate, with
dense white tomentose hairs on the underside. It flowers from July
to September.

The
Mugwort is closely allied to the Common Wormwood, but may be readily
distinguished by the leaves being white on the under-surfaces only
and by the leaf segments being pointed, not blunt. It lacks the
essential oil of the Wormwood.

Mugwort
oil contains thujone, which is toxic in large amounts or under
prolonged intake. Thujone is also present in Thuja plicata (western
red cedar), from which the name is derived. Mugwort herb contains a
very small percentage of oil, so is generally considered safe to use.
Pregnant women, though, should avoid consuming large amounts of
mugwort. The species has a number of recorded historic uses in food,
herbal medicine, and as a smoking herb.

Middle Ages

In the European Middle Ages,
mugwort was used as a magical protective herb. Mugwort was used to
repel insects, especially moths, from gardens. Mugwort has also been
used from ancient times as a remedy against fatigue and to protect
travelers against evil spirits and wild animals. Roman soldiers put
mugwort in their sandals to protect their feet against fatigue.

The leaves and buds, best
picked shortly before the plant flowers in July to September, were
used as a bitter flavoring agent to season fat, meat and fish.

It has also been used to
flavor beer before the introduction of or instead of hops.

Medicinal

The
mugwort plant contains essential oils (such as cineole, or wormwood
oil, and thujone), flavonoids, triterpenes, and coumarin derivatives.
It was also used as an anthelminthic, so it is sometimes confused
with wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). The plant, called nagadamni in
Sanskrit, is used in Ayurveda for cardiac complaints as well as
feelings of unease, unwellness and general malaise.

Since it also causes uterine
contractions, it has been used to cause abortion.

Germany

In Germany, known as Beifuß,
it is mainly used to season goose, especially the roast goose
traditionally eaten for Christmas.

Japan

Mugwort or yomogi is used in
a number of Japanese dishes, including rice cakes.

In some regions in Japan,
there is an ancient custom of hanging yomogi and iris leaves together
outside homes in order to keep evil spirits away. It is said that
evil spirits dislike their smell. The juice is said to be effective
at stopping bleeding, lowering fevers and purging the stomach of
impurities. It can also be boiled and taken to relieve colds and
coughs.

Allergen

Mugwort pollen is one of the
main sources of hay fever and allergic asthma, in North Europe, North
America and in parts of Asia. Mugwort pollen generally travels less
than 2,000 meters. The highest concentration of mugwort pollen is
generally found between 9 and 11 am.

Cooking is known to decrease
the allergenicity of mugwort.

Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood, Common
Wormwood)was used to
repel fleas and moths, and in brewing (wormwood beer, wormwood wine).
The aperitif vermouth (derived from the German word Wermut,
"wormwood") is a wine flavored with aromatic herbs, but
originally with wormwood.

The highly potent spirit
absinthe also contain wormwood. Absinthe was highly intoxicating and
addictive due to thujone.

What
is thujone? Thujone is an organic compound found in varying ratios in
different plants. Plants such as cedar leaf, sage, tansy,
thyme, rosemary and wormwood known to contain thujone. It is beleived
that Thujone is used in several modern products including Absorbine
Jr.®, Vicks Vaporub,.

Some have taken dried
Wormwood, placed it inside a coffee filter to form a sort of "pod"
and then placed them under furniture and such as a natural way of
repelling fleas from their home.

From Mrs. Grieve's A Modern Herbal

The Common Wormwood held a
high reputation in medicine among the Ancients. Tusser (1577), in
July's Husbandry, says:

'While Wormwood hath seed
get a handful or twaine

To save against March, to make
flea to refraine:

Where chamber is sweeped and
Wormwood is strowne,

What saver is better (if
physick be true)

For places infected than
Wormwood and Rue?

It is a comfort for hart and
the braine

And therefore to have it it is
not in vaine.'

Besides being strewn in chambers
as Tusser recommended, it used to be laid among stuffs and furs to
keep away moths and insects.

According to the Ancients,
Wormwood counteracted the effects of poisoning by hemlock, toadstools
and the biting of the seadragon. The plant was of some importance
among the Mexicans, who celebrated their great festival of the
Goddess of Salt by a ceremonial dance of women, who wore on their
heads garlands of Wormwood.

With the exception of Rue,
Wormwood is the bitterest herb known, but it is very wholesome and
used to be in much request by brewers for use instead of hops. The
leaves resist putrefaction, and have been on that account a principal
ingredient in antiseptic fomentations.

Wormwood
leaves’ primary use is to stimulate the gallbladder, help prevent,
and release stones, and to adjust resulting digestive problems.
Clinical studies with volunteers proved that wormwood does

effectively
increase bile.

It
expels roundworms and threadworms. It is also a muscle relaxer that
is occasionally added to liniments, especially for rheumatism.

Wormwood
is an extremely useful medicine for those with weak and under active
digestions. It increases stomach acid and bile production and
therefore improves digestion and the absorption of nutrients, making
it helpful for many conditions including anemia.

It
also eases gas and bloating, and if the tincture is taken regularly,
it slowly strengthens the digestion and helps the body return to full
vitality after a prolonged illness. Use as a weak infusion taken 2 –
3 times daily. Can be used as a compress for stings and bites.

Artemisia arborescens
Tree Wormwood,is a
very bitter herb indigenous to the Middle East that is used in tea,
usually with Mentha also known as mint. In small quantities (in tea)
its believed to have medicinal properties, pacifying various kinds of
digestion turmoils. In larger doses it may have some hallucinogenic
properties. In Israel Artemisia is sometimes referred to by the name
"Shiva", the Queen of Sheba.

Artemisia abrotanum Southernwood is a flowering plant.

The plant is a member of the
genus Artemisia, along with mugwort and wormwood (an ingredient in
absinthe). Southernwood has a strong camphor-like odor and was
historically used as an air freshener or strewing herb.

It forms a small bushy shrub,
which is widely cultivated by gardeners. The grey-green leaves are
small, narrow and feathery. The small flowers are yellow. It can
easily be propagated by cuttings, or by division of the roots.

Southernwood
is antiseptic and kills intestinal worms.[citation needed] It was
used to treat liver, spleen and stomach problems and was believed by
the 17th century herbalist Culpeper to encourage menstruation.

It
is seldom used medicinally today, except in Germany, where poultices
are placed on wounds, splinters and skin conditions and it is
employed occasionally to treat frostbite.

Its constituents have been
shown to stimulate the gallbladder and bile, which improves
digestion and liver functions. The leaves are mixed with other herbs
in aromatic baths and is said to counter sleepiness. An infusion of
the leaves is said to work as a natural insect repellent when applied
to the skin or if used as a hair rinse is said to combat dandruff.

It can be very useful when
grown in a chicken run as it helps to keep the chickens in tip top
condition and helps to prevent them from 'Feather-Picking' (which can
be lethal as they can very quickly become cannibalistic) as it helps
to prevent infestation of mites and other insects that pester
chickens.

Sweet Annie- A. annua

Sweet
Annie is very easy to grow, in fact, some might even call it
invasive, and it is considered a noxious weed in some places. You can
try and deadhead the blooms to keep it from reseeding, but in my
experience, this is very difficult because the blooms are so
numerous. I love it, though, and don't mind where it comes up on its
own... but then my "garden" is anything but organized and
formal!

This Artemisia will grow in sun to shade here in
Texas. It will reach a height of about 4 or 5 feet in one season. It
is not particular about soil type and needs very little water once it
starts to gain some size. It looks good in containers, too. In fact,
some people grow it in pots and shape it for a Christmas Tree.

The
seeds are small, so if you purchase seed or harvest some and want to
sow them yourself, just sprinkle the seed on the surface of the soil
or potting medium and keep them moist. They should germinate within 2
weeks.

Sweet Annie, known in China as
qing-hao, has been used in treating malaria and fever since the
seventh century. Western herbalists, too, have used the plant for
this purpose, and value it also for its effectiveness against
diarrhea, indigestion, and certain bacterial diseases. In the past 20
years, scientists in Beijing have isolated a substance from sweet
Annie (found only in this herb) which they have used to treat
quinine-resistant malaria in thousands of patients, with nearly 100
percent success.

Because allergic reactions are common, medicinal use
of this herb should be undertaken only under the supervision of a
qualified health practitioner.

Mission Statement

The Rockport Herb & Rose Study Group, founded in March 2003, is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to increasing public knowledge and awareness about herbs and roses.

Come and learn everything you ever wanted to know about herbs. Do you know that there are over 2,000 herbs and that roses are herbs too? Do you know that many of our Texas Native Plants are also herbs? Herbs are used not only for culinary purposes, but also for medicinal, cosmetic and craft purposes.

We meet the second Wednesday of every month at the ACISD Maintenance Department Formerly Rockport Elementary, 619 N. Live Oak Street, Room 14, Rockport, Texas at 10:00 a.m. to discuss all aspects of using and growing herbs including the historical uses of the herbs and tips for successful propagation and cultivation.

We are open to the public. Some members of the group are available as speakers to other audiences